Temple Beth-El of Great Neck and the Gold Coast Arts Center will present “While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East”—A Conversation with Author Yaakov Katz on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m.
From 2016 and 2023, Katz was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, where he continues to write a weekly column. He also pens regular columns for Newsweek and The Jewish Chronicle, serves as a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem and appears regularly as an analyst covering Israel affairs on CNN and the BBC.
Through a detailed examination of the events leading up to the devastating Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, the author offers a stark, sobering account of how overconfidence and complacency paved the way for disaster, while underscoring the critical lessons the country must embrace to safeguard its future.
The Israeli-American journalist’s earlier books include “Shadow Strike: Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power,” “The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War.”
Since the release of his latest book this fall, the author has spoken extensively throughout the world and has been interviewed numerous times.
Originally from Chicago, Katz earned a law degree from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and currently lives in Jerusalem with his wife and their four children.
For more than a year, Temple Beth-El and the Gold Coast Arts Center have joined forces to present events, concerts, art tours, programs about Israeli food, films, books and much more.
The partnership was made possible through the generous support of the Stumer family in memory of Susan Stumer, a longtime TBE member and choir singer who was passionate about music and art. The Susan Stumer Cultural Arts Fund was established to ensure that her love for the arts would continue at TBE for many years.
The entire community is welcome to attend this event. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Register at tinyurl.com/TBEOct22.
General admission costs $36 for one ticket and one book; $31 for TBE or Gold Coast members. Two tickets and one book costs $54; $44 for TBE or Gold Coast members. To receive one book and participate in the live stream of the evening, the cost is $25 each.
For more than two decades, the Gold Coast Arts Center has presented high-quality programs in Great Neck.
Founded in 1928, the peninsula’s first synagogue has served the community for more than 95 years and is located at 5 Old Mill Road. Learn more at www.tbegreatneck.org, 516-487-0900 or info@tbegreatneck.org.
